5 CFR 531.401 - Principal authorities.

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§ 531.401 Principal authorities.

The following are the principal authorities for the regulations in this subpart:

(a) Section 2301(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code, provides in part that “appropriate incentives and recognition should be provided for excellence in performance.”

(b) Section 5301(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, provides that “pay distinctions be maintained in keeping with work and performance distinctions.”

(c) Section 5338 of title 5, United States Code, provides that “The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe regulations necessary for the administration” of General Schedulepay rates, including within-grade increases.

(d) Section 4 of the Performance Management and Recognition System Termination Act of 1993 (Pub. L. 103-89) provides that “the Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations necessary for the administration of this section.”

The regulations are effective November 27, 2015. The regulations are applicable on the first day of the first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2016.

5 CFR Part 531

Summary

The Office of Personnel Management is issuing final regulations on behalf of the President's Pay Agent. These final regulations link the definitions of General Schedule (GS) locality pay area boundaries to updated metropolitan area definitions established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in February 2013. These final regulations also establish 13 new locality pay areas, which the Federal Salary Council recommended after reviewing pay levels in all “Rest of U.S.” metropolitan statistical areas and combined statistical areas with 2,500 or more GS employees.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is issuing proposed regulations on behalf of the President's Pay Agent to link the definitions of General Schedule (GS) locality pay area boundaries to updated metropolitan area definitions established by the Office of Management and Budget in February 2013. Under this proposal, locations that would otherwise move to a lower-paying locality pay area due to use of the updated metropolitan area definitions in the locality pay program would remain in their current locality pay area. This proposal does not modify the current commuting and GS employment criteria used in the locality pay program to evaluate, for possible inclusion in a locality pay area, locations adjacent to the metropolitan area comprising the basic locality pay area. However, regarding calculation of commuting interchange rates used to evaluate such locations, the locality pay area definitions proposed in this document reflect use of the commuting patterns data collected as part of the American Community Survey between 2006 and 2010, as recommended by the Federal Salary Council in January 2014. Under this proposal, 13 new locality pay areas would also be established. The Federal Salary Council recommended these 13 locality pay areas after reviewing pay levels in all “Rest of U.S.” metropolitan statistical areas and combined statistical areas with 2,500 or more GS employees. The Federal Salary Council found that the percentage difference between GS and non-Federal pay levels for the same levels of work— i.e., the pay disparity—in these 13 locations was substantially greater than the “Rest of U.S.” pay disparity over an extended period. The President's Pay Agent has agreed to issue proposed regulations in response to the Federal Salary Council's recommendation to establish the 13 new locality pay areas. Locality pay rates for the new locality pay areas would be set by the President after the new locality pay areas would be established by regulation.